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GENERALWILKINSONANDHIS 

LATER INTRIGUES WITH 

THE SPANIARDS 



By ISAAC JOSLIN COX 



REPRINTED FROM THE 



s_^ \^ \C^ 

VOL. XIX., No. 4 JULY, 1914 



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rRepnniecl ln,.n Thk Amkkicax IIistoricai, Kb'.vrKW, Vol. XIX., No. 4, J^y, I(fi4.] 




GENERAL WILKINSON AND HIS LATER INTRIGUES 
WITH THE SPANIARDS^ 

The withdrawal of the Spanish garrison from Natchez in 1798 
and the double territorial transfer at New Orleans in 1803 mark 
two conspicuous stages in the American advance to the Gulf 
of Mexico. As commander of our unpretentious army General 
James Wilkinson took an important part in both events. During 
the intervening years his routine dealings with the Spaniards ap- 
parently convinced both them and his superiors that he wished no 
friendship with them beyond the pale of national honor. Many of 
his contemporaries in New Orleans interpreted his attitude towards 
the French and his prominence in the formal transfer as a pledge of 
continued loyaltv to the American government. The Spaniards had 
first surmised this loyalty six years before when he rejected their 
proffer to assist him in becoming "the Washington of the West ".^ 
Shortly after, they yielded the Natchez district to his troops and 
ceased attempts to pay the pension previously assigned him. 

Yet in the midst of the turmoil and uncertainty that for a few 
months marked the American occupation of Louisiana vague rumor 
asserted that the general was renewing a dangerous intmiacy with 
his former Spanish friends, and a sudden acquisition of newly- • 
coined Mexican dollars apparently confirmed the charge.=^ Durmg 
the succeeding decade this report caused Wilkinson considerable 
annoyance, although his most persistent accuser, Daniel Clark, tailed 
to present legal evidence to substantiate it.* But the crafty Span- 
iards who kept documents whenever they spent dollars, have pre- 
served this evidence for us in the vast Archives of the Indies at 
Seville.^ Thus we may present additional testimony to the Proojs 

lA paper read at the meeting of the American Historical Association. 

December 30, 1913- r 1 ti t „ - ,^n<? 

2 Manuel Gayoso de Lemos to the Prince of the Peace, June 0, 1798. 
Archivo General de Indias, Seville: Papeles de Cuba, legajo 178 no_20. 

3 Testimony of John McDonough in Clark, Proofs of the Corruptwn of 
General James Wilkinson, p. 27, and app. no. 24, p. 51- 

4: Ibid., pp. 81 and 82. _ 1 • ^u- • 

5 The writer wishes to acknowledge the assistance, m unearthing this evi- 
dence of Mr. Roscoe R. Hill, whose researches in the Cuban Papers, under the 
direction of the Department of Historical Research of the Carnegie Institution 
of Washington, have greatly facilitated his own work. He is likewise under 

(794) 



795 /. /. Cox 

of the Corruption of General James Wilkinson, which the author of 
that famous diatribe was unable to secure 

In February, 1804, Don Vizente Folch, governor of West 

Florida, chanced to be in New Orleans and while there renewed with 

the genera^_ those reprehensible relations that he elsewhere calls 

ancient History '.« As in his previous intrigues, Wilkinson took 

tLTT.VI'V"""''''^ ''"'" '^' '''''' ^ ^''^Se of secrecy. 
Thus fortified he began their first interview by making "various 
r flections upon the course that Spain should pursue to prevent the 
United States from profiting at its expense by the cession of Loui- 
siana. The conspicuous part that he had taken in this act apparently 
did not deter him from offering to aid its former owner Folch 
may. have thought that he was simply trying to plav the double 
mercenary game that always characterized him, yet he seems to have 
found something valuable in his " Reflections ". Upon the governor's 
suggestion, therefore, the other promised to write them out in detail 
Folch was then to translate the work and send it to his immediate 
superior, Captain-General Someruelos of Cuba 

At the conclusion of the interview Wilkinson brought up a mat- 
ter which he confessed was of considerable embarrassment to him 
It shortly appeared that the embarrassment was of the chronic' 
financial kind that he frequently experienced, which in itself will ex- 
plain his continual double-dealing. He stated, so Folch tells us that 
some fifteen years before he had been promised an annual pension 
of two thousand dollars, but that for the past ten vears he had re- 
ceived nothing. He was about to go north to Washington and su- 
gested that Folch should pay him the sum due on his pension ffis 
constant travelling expenses and other needs would make this very 
acceptable. In return he promised to furnish the text of his " Re- 
flections , and in addition to ascertain the plans and purposes of 
Jefferson and the cabinet ministers and report thoroughly thereon. 
He wo^dd be able to do this for he knew " what was concealed in the 
heartof the President "-an insight of which few of his contem- 
poraries dared boast. But Wilkinson was trying to impress the 
Spanish governor. o ^ c 

Folch did not have enough money on hand to meet the ordinary 

vide, sub-director of the Archive Historico Nacional Madrid for ' 

R Tt, .„ • , i>cn,iLiiiai, iviaariQ, tor many coiirf-fxsiVs 

references occur in Folch's muy reservado no. 130 Januanr Si^l l 

1566. Cf. notes II and ^6 Mr C V Ch ^ January 26, 1809, in legajo 

ing of these documents. ''"'" courteously supervised the copy- 



General Wilkinson ajid his Spanish Intrigues 796 

expenses of his government, to say nothing of a demand Hke the 
present, even if it should be reduced by one-half, as Wilkinson 
speedily suggested. Nor could he refer the matter to the intendant, 
Morales, with whom neither he nor Wilkinson was on good terms. 
He suggested, therefore, that they should apply to the Marques de 
Casa Calvo, who, as boundary commissioner, was then in New 
Orleans to settle the limits of Louisiana with the Americans. The 
marques had recently received one hundred thousand dollars from 
Mexico, and from this he might readily and covertly furnish Wil- 
kinson with a portion of his original demand. 
The other demurred at this. 

I am afraid [he said], and you ought to guess why. You know better 
than I that the marques is entirely under the direction of his secretary; 
that the latter is not capable of keeping a secret, and he would hardly 
learn of my plan before communicating it unreservedly and in complete 
detail to his friend and comrade, the intendant. At present the latter 
is on very intimate terms with Mr. Daniel Clark, and they are like- 
wise associated in land speculations. I also ought to tell you that Clark 
corresponds with Jefferson, who has asked the former to give him his 
views regarding the kind of government to be established in Louisiana. 
I am a lost man, if the secretary should learn of what I propose. 

Folch tried to calm his fears by offering to speak to Casa Calvo 
in person. " I see that you do not know the marques very well ", 
replied the anxious general. " It seems to me that both he and his 
secretary look upon you as a very serious rival, and as we have no 
other recourse, I prefer to open up the subject myself with the 
marques, and will do so next Sunday, using Mr. Gilbert Leonard^ 
as interpreter." 

On the following Sunday evening, therefore, Wilkinson reported 
to Folch that he had broached the subject to the marques. The 
latter told him that he could not keep the afifair from his secretary, 
but that he would vouch for the latter's silence ; nor could he give 
the whole twenty thousand dollars, but would pay such part as his 
limited resources permitted. Casa Calvo insisted that his secretary 
rather than Folch should translate the text of Wilkinson's " Re- 
flections ", but Wilkinson was obdurate upon this point. For the 
next twenty days, therefore, Wilkinson busied himself in preparing 
his copy which Folch translated quire by quire. At the same time 
he wrote to the Secretary of War that he was " collecting topograph- 
ical information in all directions and at some expense which I am 
persuaded you will find highly interesting".* So he was, but as 
usual he did not tell the whole story. 

"^ Leonard had served as contador under the Spanish regime in Louisiana. 
For his previous intimate relations with Wilkinson, cf. Wilkinson, Memoirs of 
my own Times, vol. IL, app. XXIIL 

8 Wilkinson to Dearborn, March 30, 1804. War Department, Letters Received. 



797 ^- /• <^ox 

When the double work of composing and translating the "Re- 
flections " was done, Wilkinson carried a copy to the marques. 
Later on the same day he urgently summoned Folch to an interview, 
in the course of which he explained that the marques refused to 
allow any one but himself to appear in the correspondence, which he 
proposed to transmit directly to Spain. " For God's sake ", the 
frightened Wilkinson begged, " help me out of the pool in which I 
am floundering." The terrified general was indeed in a predica- 
ment, for the jealousy of either Folch or Casa Calvo might lead to 
his undoing. Yet after Folch learned that Wilkinson preferred to 
omit everybody's name rather than his own, and that he had told 
Casa Calvo so, he agreed to patch up the affair so as to serve their 
individual purposes. The governor consented to the omission of his 
name from the copy that Wilkinson gave Casa Calvo. At the same 
time he was to inform the captain-general of the whole affair and 
ask him whether he or the marques should continue the intrigue. 

Wilkinson accompanied the memorial with an explanatory let- 
ter® that seemed especially to arouse Casa Calvo's opposition. In 
this he stated that his course was inspired by his extreme interest in 
the prosperity of both countries. It is doubtful if such pretexts ever 
deceived the Spaniards who hoped to profit by his treachery. He 
certainly lacked a sense of humor or credited the Spaniard with 
lacking it, when he averred that while bound to the United States by 
the tie of birth, he was likewise united to the interests of Spain "by 
the most solemn obligations of gratitude ". The cultured official 
whom he thus assured doubtless knew that such ought to be the case 
and also the exact financial outlay by which his country had gained 
this gratitude. He seems to have doubted its potency, however, 
when expressed through several channels, for he strenuously ob- 
jected to the brief list of his fellow-officials whom Wilkinson 
thought it necessary to inform of his " humble though zealous agency ". 
Even Wilkinson's old friend Gilbert Leonard might not act as inter- 
mediary, and at the same time, to avert suspicion, serve as vice- 
consul in New Orleans. As Casa Calvo " did not possess the English 
idiom ", he must perforce use his secretary, Don Andres Armesto, 
as interpreter. Wilkinson had previously told Folch that the secre- 
tary " could not keep a secret ". Now he praised him to Casa Calvo 
for his "wisdom and probity". 

Wilkinson thought that his previous persecutions on account of 
his partiality for the Spaniards and the danger to which he exposed 
life, fame, and position should relieve him from suspicion of sordid 
motives — " strangers to my bosom " — and recommend him to " His 

9 A translation of this accompanies Folch's reservado no. 3, as " Number one ". 



General JVilkinson and his Spajiish hitrigues 798 

Majesty's generosity". As indicating his view of this, he asked for 
the sum mentioned to Folch — twenty thousand dollars — and in addi- 
tion an annual pension of four thousand dollars. He states that this 
is his present salary in the American service, but if so, he has in 
view not only his monthly stipend of $225, but also his frequent 
allowances for excess rations and his padded expense accounts — 
both extremely vulnerable points of attack by his enemies. ^° 

In his venality Wilkinson is not original enough to counteract the 
natural disgust excited by his greed. For example, in addition to 
his previous demands, he suggested that he might extend his own 
influence and secure adherents "to our interests and maxims", if he 
were given the privilege of exporting sixteen thousand barrels of 
flour annually to Havana. This suggestion recalls his monopoly in 
the golden days of the earlier " Spanish Conspiracy ". He reiterated 
his hope that the balance due on his former pension might be 
promptly paid, for upon this depended the journey to Washington 
and his proposed plan of operations there. In closing he again 
begged the marques, upon his loyalty, honor, and friendship, to avoid 
the use of his name but to use his now well-known designation — 
" Number Thirteen ". 

It may be well to characterize briefly the document" that seemed 
worth so great a price. Wilkinson began by referring to the growth 
of the population west of the Allegheny Mountains in the previous 
thirty years. A mere reference to this fact was at once sufficient to 
arouse the worst fears of the Spaniards. He then emphasized 
Louisiana as the outpost of Mexico and the danger both to Spain 
and the United States following its sale to the latter. He stated that 
the sole object of interest that his country had in the cession arose 
from the desire to obtain the navigation of the Mississippi, although 
the United States would have been obliged to oppose any attempt on 
the part of England or France to possess the country, had such 
arisen. 

10 Steiner, Lijc and Correspondence of James McHenry, p. 550; Annals, 11 
Cong., 2 sess., II. 2351. 

11 This will be referred to simply as Wilkinson's " Reflections ". For a com- 
plete title cf. no. 4885 in Dr. James A. Robertson's List of Documents in Spanish 
Archives relating to the History of the United States. Dr. Robertson published 
this in Louisiana under the Rule of Spain, France, and the United States 1785- 
1807, II. 325-347, from a copy contained in the Mississippi State Department of 
Archives and History. This transcript, as Mr. Roscoe R. Hill informs me, is 
made from a triplicate one accompanying Folch's reservado no. 3. At present 
this does not accompjiny the letter and other documents in legajo 1574, but is in 
legajo 2355. As it is signed by Folch to attest its genuineness, Dr. Robertson 
naturally assigns its authorship to the Spanish governor and thus misses its real 
significance. But Folch's letter and other references clearly establish the general's 
authorship and afford additional evidence of his venality. 



799 ^' J- Cox 

From the standpoint of Spain Wilkinson believed that that 
country should continue to control the Floridas and incidentally the 
Indians in the immediate vicinity. If ^lonroe should be successful 
in his projected mission^- to gain those colonies, he trembled for the 
fatal consequences to both nations. If, however, Spain could secure 
the west bank of the Mississippi in exchange for the Floridas, all 
might be well. The population of the United States would not be 
tempted to scatter itself beyond the Mississippi, and thus Mexico and 
Peru Avould be safe from what he termed " an army of adventurers 
similar to the ancient Goths and Vandals ". 

Pending this exchange Wilkinson suggested that Spain should 
strongly fortify both the Texas and Florida frontiers. The Ameri- 
cans would hesitate to make any advance to the westward while the 
Spaniards held fortified posts in the rear. In this way they might 
force the United States to respect their territorial rights. In keep- 
ing with this policy they should arrest the exploring party under 
Captain Lewis and break up Boone's settlement on the Missouri, a 
dangerous outpost on the road to Santa Fe. At the same time Spain 
could well afiford to be generous in this proposed exchange, even to 
the extent of offering to pay the current debt of the United States in 
addition to ceding the Floridas. 

When one remembers that these suggestions were made by the 
commander-in-chief of the American army just after he had taken 
an important part in the very transfer under discussion, it is hard 
to find words correctly to characterize them. But the author is 
apparently as ready to betray Spain as the United States. While 
certain of his suggestions may seem due to an indirect desire to ad- 
vance the interests of the latter country, it is probable that the chief 
motive is his own personal fortune. The only wonder is that after 
their previous experiences with Wilkinson, the Spaniards were again 
willing to trust him and to pay so handsomely for his obvious sug- 
gestions. After all these seem more despicable in purpose than 
dangerous in execution. 

According to their agreement Wilkinson furnished Folch with 
a copy of his " Reflections " together with the accompanying letter. 
When the governor returned to Pensacola he promptly transmitted 
both to Someruelos, together with some comments of his own.^^ He 
evidently had some faith in Wilkinson, but his own experience 
caused him to doubt that officer's accuracy. Folch insisted that 
Spain should not only recover the western bank of the Mississippi, 

1'- This was Monroe's joint mission with Charles Pinckney, upon which he 
did not enter for some months. 

13 These appear in an informe accompanying his reservado no. 3. 



General WilJcinson and his Spanish Intrigues 800 

as the rampart of Mexico, but should also retain the Floridas as a 
protection for Cuba. Possibly they might cede some territory im- 
mediately bordering the eastern bank, if absolutely necessary to 
meet the American demands, but he rejects as "political heresy" 
any suggestion to pay the entire debt of the United States in order 
to secure the coveted Louisiana, although willing to repay the sum 
actually expended for it. 

While the governor from Pensacola was thus discussing the 
memorial and uttering his own criticisms upon it, Casa Calvo paid 
Wilkinson twelve thousand dollars in lieu of the twenty at first de- 
manded. The general invested the major portion of this payment 
in a cargo of sugar, which he carried with him on his trip to the 
north. This purchase caused several ugly rumors to become cur- 
rent in New Orleans which Wilkinson then attempted to explain by 
stating that the money was due on a former tobacco contract with 
the Spanish government.^'' Later, in 1807, when Daniel Clark 
showed that this was untenable, the death of the military agent in 
New Orleans rendered another explanation possible. Wilkinson 
then asserted that he had received the sum invested in sugar as extra 
pay for his services in connection with Indian treaties." But at the 
time even the youthful Claiborne had his suspicions aroused, and, 
through a friend, applied to Daniel Clark to prove or disprove the 
rumors. Clark saw the books of the intendant, who was his friend, 
and who would have naturally paid out any money for the Spanish 
government, but, of course, he found no record of the twelve thou- 
sand dollars.i*' For the time being, therefore, the general was safe 
with his ill-gotten gain. 

During the next three years Wilkinson kept the Spaniards thor- 
oughly interested in his movements but one is unable to note any real 
service that he rendered them. Following his usual double-dealing 
course he presented to Jefferson a twenty-two page memorial, de- 
scribing the country between the Mississippi and the Rio Grande, 
accompanied by a series of twenty-eight manuscript maps." It^ is 
likely that this information caused the President to modify the in- 
structions already issued to our envoys at Madrid and to direct them 
to insist more strongly on our western boundary claims.^^ We may 

14 C/ notes 3 and 4; also Someruelos to Folch, July 12, 1804. and Minute 
dated at San Ildefonso, September 27, 1804. These latter documents accompany 

reservado no. 3. 

15 Affidavit of James M. Bradford, Clark, Proofs, p. 27, and app. no. 25. 

16 Ihid. 

17 Wilkinson to Dearborn, July 13, 1804, and enclosure. War Department, 
Letters Received. The memorial is at present in the files of the War Depart- 
ment, but the maps do not accompany it. 

^& Am. State Papers, For. Rel., II. 627 et seq. 



So I /. /. Cox 

believe that the general's purpose was not only to gain favor with 
the administration but also to exert an indirect pressure on the 
Spanish authorities. If the American government emphasized its 
claims to the western country, the Spaniards would value more 
highly the advice in his " Reflections " and pay more handsomely for 
his influence. 

Folch and Casa Calvo mention two letters that Wilkinson wrote 
them while in Washington. They were unable to decipher the first 
or to profit by the current gossip reported in the other. In the 
second the general closed with a characteristic appeal for more 
money. Casa Calvo was inclined to accommodate him but now 
lacked funds and for the present the home authorities had forbidden 
further payments. ^^ In the same letter Wilkinson urged Casa Calvo 
to follow the advice of his memorial. "Otherwise", he firmly de- 
clared, '* all will be lost ". However, Wilkinson had the opportunity 
to make double use of his data on the western frontier, by furnish- 
ing Casa Yrujo, the Spanish minister, with information regarding 
that section.^" At the same time he tried to add to its value by inter- 
rogating the President's guest, the Baron von Humboldt, who had 
just visited Mexico.-^ It is difficult to see who was to profit by this 
course of duplicity, unless it were the arch-schemer himself. 

Another proceeding of Wilkinson at this time promised still less 
advantage for the Spaniards. He renewed an intimate acquaintance 
with Aaron Burr and their joint secret studies were directed towards 
western and especially Alexican cartography. This gave him an 
opportunity to employ still further his western data. When the two 
baneful intimates journeyed westward in the summer of 1805, Wilkin- 
son gave the ex-vice-president enthusiastic letters of introduction to 
Casa Calvo and counselled the other to follow Burr's advice. In 
this way he tells him they will soon be able " to send to the Devil 
that idiotic boaster, W. C. C. Claiborne ".-- Claiborne was then try- 
ing to rid New Orleans of Casa Calvo's presence, so this might seem 
an attempt to serve the Spaniard. But Wilkinson's efiforts to get 
rid of Claiborne were rather inspired by a w^ish to put Burr in his 
place. As he himself was at the same time governor of Upper 

19 Casa Calvo to the Prince of the Peace, February 28, 1805. Archivo Gen- 
eral de Indias, Seville : Audiencia de Santo Domingo, Luisiana y La Florida, Aiios 
1800-1837, est. 87, caj. I, leg. 10. 

20 Casa Yrujo to Cevallos (no. 474), February 7, 1805. Adams Transcripts, 
Bureau of Rolls and Library, Department of State; Robertson, List of Docu- 
ments, etc., no. 5021. 

21 Jefferson Papers, series 2, vol. 85, no. 78. 

22 Wilkinson to Casa Calvo, March 18, 1805, June 9, 1805. Enclosed in Casa 
Calvo to Don Pedro Cevallos, August 22, 1805, Audienca de Santo Domingo, etc., 
est. 87, caj. I, leg. 10. 



General Wilkinson and his Spanish Intrigues 802 

Louisiana, the important frontier posts of New Orleans and St. 
Louis would thus be in the hands of the two most treacherous ad- 
venturers in American public life, with the bulk of the army at their 
back. Fortunately the administration distrusted such an untoward 
combination, although personal motives led Jefferson to continue its 
more pernicious member in the northern post. 

Shortly after introducing Burr to Casa Calvo, Wilkinson found 
it necessary to send the Spaniard an apology for Burr's behavior 
while in New Orleans. The distinguished but distrusted visitor had 
neglected the Spaniard's proffered hospitality and had consorted 
with the group of avowed revolutionists known as " The Mexican 
Association".-^ Possibly this action tcm openly proclaimed future 
intentions to suit Wilkinson. Hence his apology. At the same 
time he referred to the critical relations existing between their re- 
spective countries, possibly to remind the marques that another sub- 
stantial payment on account would be acceptable. He hoped that all 
would yet be well, but if worst came to worst he suggested that, with 
Casa Calvo as his antagonist, they might do much to mitigate the 
horrors of war. If he meant to accomplish this by continuing his 
mercenary intrigues, we may be glad that other events intervened to 
keep from our military annals an incident that would have put Bene- 
dict Arnold to blush. Apparently this indefinite missive closes the 
intrigue as far as Casa Calvo is concerned, and in view of his curt 
dismissal he probably wondered wdiat he had to show for his twelve 
thousand dollars. 

During the next year Wilkinson in his dual capacity as com- 
mander of the army and governor of Upper Louisiana does still less 
to justify Spanish hopes. He seems determined to make his neigh- 
bors realize the danger in permitting the Americans to remain west 
of the Alississippi, for he intrigues with Burr, organizes a fur-trad- 
ing company, initiates Pike's explorations, engages in land specula- 
tion with the Spanish faction among the Creoles, and arouses the 
opposition of all other local factions. This last eft'ort led to his own 
transfer. He was ordered to repel the Spanish advance on the 
Texas frontier. After an inexplicable delay he reached the front, 
speedily took advantage of his new situation to arrange the Neutral 
Ground Agreement with his opponent, Herrera, and thus betrayed 
the filibustering project of his colleague. Burr. In this apparent 
service for the Spaniards, however, he immediately displayed his 
mercenary motives to a manifold degree, for he demanded more than 
a hundred and twenty thousand dollars from the Mexican viceroy. 
At the same time, to escape a storm of newspaper execration gath- 

23 Wilkinson, Memoirs, II. 283. 



8o3 • /. J. Cox 

ering in Kentucky, he mystified Jefferson by dark hints of a plot to 
separate the western states from the Union, visited New Orleans 
with a farcical reign of terror, and speedily rendered himself the most 
distrusted and most detested individual in the lower Mississippi 
Valley. Fortunately for himself, in doing so he had gained renewed 
influence with Jefferson, for he had directed his efforts against Burr, 
the victim of the President's implacable hatred.-^ 

During these weeks of exaggerated terrorism, while our gen- 
eral's earlier relations with the Spaniards were being thoroughly 
ventilated in the Western World, a yellow sheet of Frankfort, Ken- 
tucky, his later intrigues also caused him considerable annoyance. 
At Natchez, in the very house in which his dying wife lay, he assured 
the Quaker surveyor, Isaac Briggs, on his honor as a soldier, that 
the payment made to him at New Orleans in the spring of 1804 was 
on account of a former tobacco contract with the Spanish govern- 
ment. He persuaded Briggs to believe him and to act as his special 
messenger to Jefferson in his feigned expose of the Burr con- 
spiracy.-^ At this very time he despatched another agent. Walter 
Burling, to Mexico City to make his pecuniary demand on the 
viceroy for breaking up this conspiracy.-^ The alleged plot may 
have been only the creation of his imagination, but its author had a 
very tangible object in view. His gambling instinct is shown in the 
fact that while trying to cover up a former bribe of twelve thousand 
dollars, he is planning to extort from the same source one ten times 
as large. 

Despite his dependence upon executive influence Wilkinson does 
not hesitate in a private letter to refer to the President whom he has 
deceived, as "our fool". His reference is measurably just, though 
indecorous. In the same missive he calls Claiborne "that beast", 
and demands his removal forthwith.-' But at the same time the 
general persuades the innocent governor that there was nothing 
criminal in his sugar transactions of 1804. By this means the youth- 
ful executive was led to acquiesce in the military chieftain's high- 
handed exercise of power. The public disclosures in the Western 
World and the hatred incurred by his recent course in New Orleans 
caused him once more to ask his friend Folch to get him out of 
difficulty, 

Wilkinson had already given the Spanish executive minute 
though inaccurate information of Burr's movements and suggested 

24 McCaleb, The Aaron Burr Conspiracy, passim ; Houck, Missouri, vols. II., 
III., passim. 

25 Wilkinson, Memoirs, vol. II., app. LIX. 

26 McCaleb, p. 264 et seq. ; American Historical Review, IX. 533. 

27 Annals, 11 Cong., 2 sess., II. 2359—2360. 



General Wilkinso7i and Jiis Spanish Intrigiics 804 

that the other should secure Baton Rouge against the projected 
attack of the Kentucky insurgents. He even proposed that the 
Spaniard should comhine forces with his own against their common 
foe.^^ In this his purpose may have been to further his pecuniary 
demands on the Mexican viceroy. At any rate, when requesting 
Folch to permit the American troops to pass by Mobile, he main- 
tained that his measures were designed to protect not only the 
American territory and the Floridas, but the " Mexican dominions " 
as well. Influenced by this proposal Governor Folch, on his journey 
westward, planned to visit New Orleans, confer with Wilkinson and 
Claiborne on their common peril, and then proceed to Baton Rouge 
by way of the Mississippi. 

Meanwhile the exaggerated report of Burr's advance had so 
excited the volatile population of the Creole capital that Governor 
Claiborne, ignorant of the general's necessity, refused to allow Folch 
and his officials to enter the city ; and Wilkinson was constrained to 
support him in his refusal. The Spanish governor states that Wil- 
kinson's aide urged him to disregard their apparent discourtesy and 
come on anyhow, promising that Claiborne would not oppose this 
move. Captain Daniel Flughes, the general's aide-de-camp, himself 
savs that he tried to induce Folch to meet Claiborne and Wilkinson 
at the San Juan bridge, on the canal outside the city limits. The 
incensed Spaniard did not believe it in accordance with his dignity 
as "the Governor of a Province and an officer of His Catholic 
Majesty" to hold an interview within sight of New Orleans while 
he was denied permission to enter it, and proceeded immediately to 
Baton Rouge.-^ Thus the name of San Juan was reserved for later 
use in American military annals. 

Although Folch refused to meet him at the bridge Wilkinson did 
not propose thus to be deprived of the other's valuable assistance. 
On January 25, 1807. he wrote him through mutual confidants that 
he was being slandered because of certain alleged Spanish intrigues 
of a criminal nature. He then asked Folch to state whether he had 
ever received a pension from the Spanish government, or had held 
any sort of commission under it. In his reply on the loth of the 
following month, Folch acknowledged that he felt under obligation 
to clear Wilkinson's reputation, for as military ofificers they were 
members of a common scientific brotherhood. The Spaniard had 

28 Enclosures in Folch's reservado no. 58, December 13, 1806, Papeles de Cuba, 
legajo 1574; Folch to Someruelos, January 6, 1807, Archive Historico Nacional, 
Madrid, Estado, legajo 5546. 

29 American Historical Review, X. 832 et seq., Folch to Someruelos, reser- 
vado no. 66, Papeles de Cuba, legajo 1574; War Department, Letters Received, 
1807, Report of Daniel Htighes (to Wilkinson), January, 1807. 



8o5 /. /. Cox 

been in Louisiana since 1783 and had enjoyed confidential relations 
with his uncle, Governor Stephen Aliro. So he was persuaded that 
if there were any evidence to incriminate Wilkinson, he would know 
of it. Then he solemnly " asserverates "', as Wilkinson puts it, that 
no such document exists in his records. The wording of this state- 
ment is significant, as we shall see later. 

'' If", the governor continued, " this statement does not convince 
those who believe the newspaper as they believe their bible", he 
advised Wilkinson to remember that he was a soldier and to find 
" a source of consolation in his unsullied conscience " and his recom- 
pense " in the esteem and regard of an enlightened and liberal 
public ".^° Unfortunately, however much Wilkinson might publicly 
parade his honor and conscience, they doubtless afforded him very 
little private satisfaction. Perhaps he had this in mind when he 
wrote to Secretary Dearborn that he had just received from Folch 
a " very indecorous note " to which he proposed to reply " in a style 
of contemptuous insult, which he may either carry to his grave, or 
get rid of when he pleases "."^ Despite his bombastic note to the 
secretary — designed of course to conceal the real purpose of his 
correspondence with Folch — Wilkinson used this letter in his public 
defense published the same year. It is a wonder he dared do so 
after his letter to Dearborn, for the latter might compare dates and 
draw awkward inferences ;. but Wilkinson was accustomed to taking 
great risks, and may have reckoned on the secretary's support. 

In addition to the unsatisfactory tone of Folch's letter Wilkinson 
found the temper of the Orleans legislative assembly a more pressing 
reason for a personal interview with the Spanish governor. In the 
definite protest taking shape in that body Claiborne also was in- 
volved, for he had acquiesced in the general's arbitrary course. 
Consequently both were ready to welcome Folch's intervention. 
The latter believed he could not afford the expense of a visit to the 
city, yet in the end he yielded to their importunities, aided by the 
efforts of mutual friends. He entered New Orleans April 23. 1807, 
and was received as if he had been the President himself. 

On the following day Wilkinson sought his second notable inter- 
view with the Spaniard. He first complimented him on the way in 
which he had kept them in suspense in regard to his visit and then 
stated that his enemies had accused him of being a fellow-conspirator 
with Burr. In refutation he showed Folch certain papers to prove 
that he had been " faithful to the cause of his country and the true 

30 Clark, Proofs, etc., pp. 64-67, and app., pp. 13, 14. 

31 Wilkinson to Dearborn, February 20, 1807. War Department, Letters 
Received, 1807. 



General Wilkijison and his Spaiiish Intrigues 806 

interests of Spain ". After a prolix examination Folch agreed that 
he had. The general then told him that a memorial was being pre- 
pared against Claiborne and himself in the legislative council of the 
territory on account of his arbitrary military rule, and he asked 
Folch to use his efforts to defeat it. This admission, after three 
years of occupation, that the Spaniard possessed more intiuence in 
the Orleans legislature than either Claiborne or himself, is not 
flattering to the American administration. But the necessity under 
which the general labored forebade any considerations of pride. 
Folch states that after considerable difificulty he obtained the sup- 
pression of the objectionable memorial and the adoption of one in 
favor of the two officials.^- We may believe that he did not render 
them this service simply to heap coals of fire on their heads, but to 
secure his own province from any possible hostile move on their part. 

Shortly after this significant interview Wilkinson went northward 
to appear in connection with Burr's trial at Richmond. In this event 
he was supposed to figure as the chief witness for the prosecution, 
but in reality his public appearance merely added to the popular 
impression that he was the chief criminal at the bar. It was in con- 
nection with this trial that Wilkinson's course at New Orleans re- 
ceived a thorough ventilation. One result was the break in friend- 
ship between himself and Daniel Clark, an event which was to have 
momentous bearing upon his immediate future. 

Clark was then serving in Congress as the delegate from the 
territory of Orleans. During the preceding winter and spring he 
had advised Wilkinson to modify his course at New Orleans. At 
this same time he had rendered Wilkinson a most eft'ective service 
in making public his belief that Wilkinson received no money from 
the Spaniards in 1804. A letter from the general to Clark concern- 
ing this point shows that the former was almost capable of grati- 
tude.^^ Why Clark later turned against his former friend and cor- 
respondent we have no direct means of knowing. He states that it 
was on account of Wilkinson's despotic course in New Orleans. 
Wilkinson says that it was because he told the truth about Clark's 
finances, but we have no means of knowing more definitely. At any 
rate, Clark did not testify as he had hoped to do in Richmond, but 
later part of his incriminating evidence against Wilkinson appeared 
in a Philadelphia newspaper. The scandal was then taken up in 
Congress by the turbulent and vindictive John Randolph. The 
ensuing discussion resulted in the appointment of a military court of 

32 American Historical Review, X. 832 et seq. 

33 Report of the Committee appointed to inquire into the Conduct of General 
Wilkinson (Ezekiel Bacon, chairman), pp. 121-128, 134-144, 161-165. 



Soy /. /. Cox 

inquiry, and this caused Wilkinson once more to appeal to Folch 
for some testimony to be used in his behalf. His appeal is directly 
connected with another measure of national importance. 

Jefiferson's policy of embargo was then being put in operation. 
It affected West Florida with especial severity, for this region drew 
its provisions largely from the American territory to the north. The 
threat of impending scarcity brought Governor Folch to New Or- 
leans in the spring of 1808. For a number of weeks he tried in 
vain to induce some of the New Orleans merchants to risk an 
evasion of the blockade in order to- bring him fifteen hundred bar- 
rels of flour. After several attempts, as he later tells his superior, 
he accomplished his object through the clever management of Abner 
L. Duncan, a prominent lawyer of -New Orleans. The governor 
did not explain in detail the cause of Duncan's interest, although he 
greatly appreciated it.''* From another source we are able to make 
the explanation, and to connect his service with the Wilkinson in- 
quiry then going on at Washington. 

In February of 1808 Duncan and his partner, Gurley, requested 
Governor Claiborne to obtain from Folch the answers to certain 
questions concerning the previous career of Wilkinson. These 
questions were so worded as to disprove any connection on the 
general's part with the earlier Spanish conspiracy. Claiborne pre- 
sented the matter to Folch who eagerly embraced " this opportunity 
to do justice to the said General out of a regard to honor and truth ". 
Then with apparent directness, but really with skillful evasion, he 
answered the long list of questions in such a way as to convey the 
impression that Wilkinson's relations with former Spanish officials 
had been of a highly honorable nature and in no way detrimental 
to the United States. He repeated his former statement that there 
was in the archives under his control no document whatever to 
show that Wilkinson ever received a pension or salary from Spain. ^^ 
His assertion did not then convince Clark and fellow-doubters and 
from other sources we may now clearly see why. 

In a private letter to Wilkinson, dated a few months later, 
Folch thus expresses himself: 

My dear friend: I believe that you are already well convinced that 
I have acted as is befitting a faithful servant of the noble Spanish 
Monarchy, and that I have sincerely fulfilled the obligations which 
friendship imposes upon me. I have done even more, for I have sent 
to the archives of Havana all that pertains to the ancient History, per- 
suaded that before the United States are in a situation to conquer that 

34 Folch to Vidal (copy), February 26, 1808, and Vidal to Folch (copy),. 
March 2, 1808, Papeles de Cuba, legajo 185. 

35 Bacon, Report, pp. 42-50. 



General Wilkinson mid his Spcmish Intrigues 808 
I 

capital you and I, Jefferson, Madison, with all the Secretaries of the 
different departments, and even the prophet Daniel himself will have 
made many days' journey into the other world. 3° 

Folch closed his public letter by saying that he had 

on all occasions entertained the most favorable opinion of and sincere 
friendship for General Wilkinson; his qualities as an honest man and 
one faithful to his country entitled him to our particular attention and 
regard and we judged him to be worthy of the commission he holds. 
Should his conduct be in the light that is maliciously represented, we 
who were well acquainted with the treatment due that class of people 
would never hold him in our high esteem. Persons of that description 
are always, when their services are wanted, treated with apparent 
esteem but considered with the utmost contempt as destitute of all 
honor. Such services are always paid with money, but no means with 
regard or affection. 

It may have been " regard and affection " that led Folch to pay 
this glowing tribute to his persecuted friend, but we are more in- 
clined to believe that it was the prospect of obtaining fifteen hundred 
barrels of flour through the efforts of Wilkinson's lawyers. The 
basis of the bargain is readily discernible. Wilkinson gained the 
flattering testimonial; Folch obtained flour for starving Pensacola. 
It is true that in effecting this exchange, Wilkinson— or his attorneys 
—had to do violence to Jefferson's pet economic policy, the embargo. 
It is true that the Spaniards believed that the application of the 
embargo to West Florida was partly designed to force the relinquish- 
ment of that territory to the United States. To permit the ship- 
ment of flour to Pensacola would postpone this event upon which 
Jefferson had set his heart. In gaining his letter by this underhand 
means, therefore, Wilkinson was running counter to two cherished 
policies of his friend Jeft'erson. 

Folch later flattered himself that his letter was largely respon- 
sible for the favorable verdict that the court of inquiry rendered in 
1808. Possibly he feared that his fellow-ofiicers would not relish 
his efforts in Wilkinson's behalf, in which they were perforce in- 
cluded, especially after that general assumed a dubious attitude in 
regard to the future of Spain. Writing in December to the captain- 

36 Translation no. 5 accompanying the muy reservado no. 130 of Folch to 
Someruelos, January 26, 1809, Papeles de Cuba legajo 1566. In foot-notes Folch 
states that by " ancient History " he means the charges brought against Wilkinson 
in the Western World. Wilkinson told Folch that he feared that the weak-kneed 
secretary, Andres Armesto, might be induced to furnish his enemies with the 
copies or originals of incriminating documents. Folch promised to guard against 
this result, and after consulting with Casa Calvo, they concluded to send these 
documents to Havana together with others not of immediate use. The " Prophet 
Daniel " was Daniel Clark. Cf. note 6. 



8o9 /. J. Cox 

general, he attempted to clear himself from any suggestion of undue 
complicity in Wilkinson's flighty intrigues. He tells his superior that 
Wilkinson is the author of the " Reflections " submitted in 1804 and 
mentions that in the interim the American administration had greatly 
changed in its attitude toward him, so that Wilkinson in gratitude 
might now give Jefferson the same advice that he had formerly be- 
stowed upon the Spaniards. He then continues : 

I have said that he believes me his friend ; I ought now to add that T 
have really conducted myself toward him as one who is in some respects 
a servant of my sovereign ; for I have believed it appropriate to the 
dignity of the crown to protect a person who is persecuted for having 
revealed secrets and given information which interested him, as I have 
formerly communicated to you in detail ; but my friendship does not and 
cannot exceed these limits, for the person of whom I speak lacks all 
qualities which might recommend him to my friendship, if considered 
as a private individual.^" 

A few months after this correspondence there occurred in New 
Orleans the third and last of the series of interviews between Wil- 
kinson and Folch which constitute the subject of this paper. In 
the meantime, a military court of inquiry had given Wilkinson a 
coat of whitewash. Public dissatisfaction with this result was 
heightened by the publication, early in 1809, of Daniel Clark's 
Proofs of the Corruption of General James Wilkinson. But secure 
in the support of Jefferson and continued in his station at the head of 
the army, Wilkinson was selected as the representative of the ad- 
ministration to usher in an era in American political history. 

In 1808 Congress authorized the raising of additional regular 
troops and took measures to embody the militia of the various states. 
The critical condition of our relations with England and France jus- 
tified this action. But the appointed place of rendezvous for these 
troops was New Orleans, and naturally the Spaniards regarded this 
as a hostile move against themselves. Accordingly Jefferson em- 
powered Claiborne in New Orleans to explain to the neighboring 
Spanish authorities that the United States had no hostile designs 
against Spain in her hour of trial, and that the presence of these 
troops in New Orleans was simply to prevent any other nation from 
occupying territory to which the United States had a claim. Gov- 
ernor Claiborne dutifully made this representation to Folch at Baton 
Rouge and to Vidal, the Spanish vice-consul in New Orleans, with- 
out, however, materially abating their suspicions. ^^ 

37 Folch to Someruelos, luny reservado, no. 130. 

38 Vidal to Garibay, April 10, 1809, Archive General y Publico de la Nacion, 
Mexico, Marina, 1809 a 1814, tomo I.; Claiborne to Smith, April 21, 1809, Clai- 
borne Letters, Package, Bureau of Rolls and Library, Department of State ; 
Parker, Calendar of Papers in Washington Archives, etc., no. 7567. 



General Wilkinson and his Latest Intrigues 8io 

In addition Wilkinson, who was ordered to New Orleans to take 
command of the troops assembled there, was empowered to stop at 
Havana and Pensacola, while on his way, and make similar represen- 
tations to Someruelos and to Folch. His journey to the mouth of 
the Mississippi, therefore, was marked by visits to those two places 
and accompanied by rumors that gave a sinister aspect to his mission. 
He was charged with petty graft in his expense account, with acting 
contrary to the embargo in carrying a small consignment of flour — an 
apparent necessity to him in his dealings with the Spaniards — and 
with making semi-diplomatic representations to the officials wdiom he 
visited. From evidence that may not now be given in detaiP^ there 
was much to justify all these charges, and with reference to the last 
to prove it definitely. 

In this journey and in his various interviews with the Spanish 
authorities Wilkinson appeared in a new role. While he was to ex- 
plain the reason for assembling American troops in New Orleans, 
and to justify the embargo, his most important object seemed to be 
to sound the disposition of the Spaniards on the subject of independ- 
ence and to suggest to them the possibility of an alliance to which 
Spanish America, Brazil, and the United States should be parties. 
In his correspondence with Folch during the past few months, Wilk- 
inson had become less of a suppliant and had emphasized the possi- 
bility of such a union of the New World in case Bonaparte should 
conquer Spain, as seemed likely.*'^ Whether Wilkinson originated 
this idea or whether it was exclusively Jefferson's is uncertain. If 
the former is true we must suggest a new influence contributing to 
the much-named doctrine associated with James Monroe; if the 
latter, the executive does not seem to display good judgment in 
selecting his agent. The Spaniards would hardly view such a policy 
with favor, when presented by their former discredited agent. 

Yet in this incident it is likely that Jeft'erson was working with his 
usual finesse. He may have doubted Wilkinson's innocence, but evi- 
dently he felt obliged to befriend him. Possibly he felt that the 
general had been sufficiently frightetied to pursue for the future a 
blameless line of conduct. What could render this more certain than 
to send him in person to announce his change of heart to his former 
friends ? At any rate his employment on a remote field might allay 
for a time the storm of criticism that had become harassing to both. 
In this task Wilkinson might set on foot some new state policy that 

39 The writer plans to treat the mission of Wilkinson in a separate article 
to appear in the Mississippi Valley Historical Review. 

40 This correspondence accompanies Folch's muy reservado no. 130. Cf. 
note 36. 



8ii /. / Cox 

would serve to atone for his previous relations with the Spaniards 
and at the same time give welcome lustre to the concluding days of 
Jefferson's administration. The chance was worth the effort and 
will serve to explain the choice of Wilkinson, whether we view him 
as a repentant mercenary or an unexpected prophet of Spanish- 
American independence. 

From either point of view Wilkinson's mission was absolutely 
without result. He reached Havana while the people there were 
engaged in a riotous demonstration against the French.*^ This pre- 
vented him from opening up his mission fully with Someruelos, but 
Folch's letters to the captain-general had already insured the same 
outcome. He stopped at Pensacola but the governor was absent, 
so the general was unable to do more than land his controverted 
cargo of flour. On reaching New Orleans he found his new levies 
disorganized and suft'ering from disease. His dilatory efforts to 
improve the situation were absolutely futile, but served to bring him 
once more into unpleasant notoriety.*- At the same time Clark's 
book appeared and added to the public clamor against him. This 
led him once more to resume the role of suppliant, but he was now 
unable to secure from the neighboring Spanish ot^cials the desired 
certificates of good moral character. 

Nor was he more successful as a diplomat. As early as March, 
1809, Governor Claiborne had reported that Mexico and Cuba had 
determined upon freedom, in case Spain succumbed to France. Two 
Spanish officials, evidently inspired by Folch, gave him this informa- 
tion.*^ In an interview at Baton Rouge, a month later, the Spanish 
governor personally gave him assurances of a like tenor and appeared 
ready to welcome American friendship and alliance. But when 
Claiborne, instructed by Jefferson, had earlier broached the subject to 
Jose Vidal, the vice-consul at New Orleans, that official emphasized 
the obligation that the Spanish colonies felt toward England. Like- 
wise when Wilkinson arrived and secured interviews with Folch and 
with Vidal, who like the other was an old personal friend, they both 
insisted in including England in any proposed alliance. Neither of 
them, however, believed that Napoleon could conquer Spain, and if 
he did the Spanish colonies would be able to maintain their freedom 
against him and even bear assistance to the mother-country.** Folch, 
evidently inspired by Someruelos, pointedly told Wilkinson that it 

41 Someruelos to Garibay, April 7, 1809. Archivo Historico Nacional, Estado, 
legajo 5543. 

^-Annals, 11 Cong., 2 sess., II. 1606 et seq. 

43 Claiborne to Secretary of State, March 19, 1809. Parker, no. 7560. 

44 Claiborne to R. Smith, April 21, 1809. Parker, no. 7567. 



General Wilkinson and his Spanish hitrigiies 8 1 2 

was not fitting to divide the possessions of a parent before her 
decease.*^ 

Both ¥/ilkinson and Claiborne report that Folch seemed ready 
to deliver the Floridas to the Americans in case of any change in 
political status.*^ This is significant in view of Folch's offer to 
deliver his province to the American authorities in the latter part of 
the following year/^ which ofifer may be interpreted as an indirect 
result of Wilkinson's mission. In other ways that undertaking was 
a complete failure. The central administrative authorities at Ha- 
vana and Mexico City, who were closely in touch with each other, 
were naturally alarmed by the concentration of American troops at 
New Orleans. The frontier officials in Texas and West Florida 
reflected this alarm and refused to give credence to Wilkinson's 
" pompous protestations " to the contrary .^^ Finally the latter, dis- 
trusted by his former Spanish friends, and pursued by vindictive 
enemies at New Orleans and elsewhere, was forced to resign his 
depleted command and once more journey northward in a futile 
endeavor to clear his reputation from the weighty charges of ineffi- 
ciency and personal corruption. 

Isaac Joslin Cox. 

45 Cf. Vidal to Garibay, April 29, 1809, Marina 1809 a 1814; Folch to Someru- 
elos, no. 141, May 23, 1809, Robertson, no. 5170. 

46 Claiborne to Smith, April 21, 1809, Parker, no. 7567; Wilkinson to 
Monroe (1813?), Misc. Letters, 39, Bureau of Indexes and Archives, Department 
of State. 

^"^ Am. State Papers, For. Rel., III. 398. 
48Archivo Historico Nacional, Estado, legajos 5543, 5550; Archivo General, 
Mexico, Provincias Internas, vols. 200, 239. 



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